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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Vittoria give Giovanna to drink during their first meeting?

2. What is different about the way Vittoria usually speaks that Giovanna is not used to?

3. What is the nickname Vittoria uses for Corrado?

4. Who was Vittoria's lover that she tells Giovanna about?

5. What does Vittoria bring to the cemetery?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Vittoria tell Giovanna about herself and Enzo that enthralls Giovanna?

2. What does Giovanna realize her father Andrea is very attached to for the first time in Part II?

3. Why does Vittoria tell Giovanna that Giovanna's father avoids cemeteries?

4. According to Vittoria, what happened between she and Andrea that began their big fight?

5. Why is Giovanna so interested in her Aunt Vittoria in Part I?

6. What does Giovanna think of Mariano, her father's closest friend?

7. What are some of the reasons Giovanna's parents tell her to explain the rift between them and Vittoria?

8. What does Giovanna discover in her parents' photo albums?

9. How do Giovanna's parents react when she says she wants to meet Vittoria?

10. What does Vittoria tell Giovanna is the main reason for the rift between her and Giovanna's father?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Giovanna feel about her father, Andrea, as the novel begins? Why do you think Giovanna is so stung by Andrea's comment that she is beginning to resemble his estranged sister Vittoria? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Why does Giuliana seem so desperately insecure in regards to her self-worth and her relationship with Roberto? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Vittoria's graphic descriptions of her sexual encounters with Enzo make such a significant impression on Giovanna? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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